ITALIAN DICTATOR

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 4326, 10 August 1937, Page 2

ITALIAN DICTATOR

HOW MUSSOLINI RULES WORK OF DEPARTMENTS Part of the art of dictatorship consists of creating the impression that the dictator, and the dictator alone, governs the country, writes Ivor Jennings, in the ‘ Manchester Guardian. In Italy every creditable act of government is ascribed to Mussolini himself. Indeed, nobody except the Duce, Count Ciano, and Starace, the secretary of the Fascist Party, receives much publicity. Starace is careful to describe most of his action.as “by order of the Duce ” even so his position is regarded as so precarious that he is thought to be the next person to be “ promoted to Libya or elsewhere in the ‘ Empire. This is, indeed, part of Mussolini s technique. He has not to pk.V one lieutenant against another, as Hitler has.- He will bear no Goermg or . near the Palazzo Venezia. j>‘ Bv taking the credit for everything ■> himself the Duce is able to maintain his unique - position, and because he has that unique position he can “ promote ” .anybody who threatens to usurp part£of the limelight. In consequence, it is by no means easy to determine how much of the process of government is carried out by Mussolini himself. It is not even easv to say how much work is done by a British Prime Minister, and Prime Ministers do not make it their business to take credit for everything. That Mussolini works hard —far harder than Hitler —cannot be doubted. He himself has said that he works 12 or 14 hours a day; and probably he did not exaggerate. The government of Italy and the “ Empire ” is not so complicated as the government of the British Empire. Moreover, a dictator has advantages that a British Prime Minister does not possess. Mussolini has no House of Commons to manage. For at least eight hours a day on at least half the days of the year a British Prime Minister has to be in or near the Palace of Westminster, leading the House, listening to speeches, answering questions and criticisms. The Fascist Chamber of Deputies is a place for complimentary speeches. It is in session for short periods only; and, in any case, once he has received its homage Mussolini can leave it in charge of a Minister and a couple of Undersecretaries. While the Chamber was sitting last time, for instance, the Duce was receiving the Sword of Islam in the “ Empire.”

NO ELECTIONS NOW. Also, because there are no elections and no Opposition, Mussolini has not to persuade by public speeches. He does not defend himself because he is above criticism. He needs onlj* to string together a few exhortations to heroism, a few words of praise to Fascist warriors, and a few slights to effete democracies which know no discipline. At the same time while he has not to perform some of the most difficult and fatiguing functions of a British Prime Minister he has others to fulfil. He is both Prime Minister and King of Italy. There is of course, another King. Occasionally that other is permitted to put on a uniform and share the light that shines on his principal “ subject,” but for the most part he lives his life in the bosom of his family. What Bagehot called the “ dignified ” functions of monarchy are performed by Mussolini. Once or twice a week he cuts a first sod or lays a foundation stone, or opens an exhibition, 01 reviews troops, or visits public works. These are essential functions; for, there being no “ politics ” in the democratic sense, the Italian Press can publish very little internal political news. Occasionally' the Ministry of Propaganda produces a semi-technical article; but for the most part the Press must rely on the circuses provided by the armed forces and the party. These circuses have the additional advantage of permitting the. ardent members of the party to show themselves in their uniforms. But apart from circuses the Duce has other functions of royalty. Every day he receives victorious generals, or" heads of autonomous public authorities, or leading lights ot provincial towns, or widows of deceased heroes, or professors anxious to do homage (with an eye on the market) with their works of learning. So Mussolini maintains contact with every shade ot public life and indicates that he. and not his Ministers, govern Italy.

DECIDING POLICY. All this is apart from the real work of government. Mussolini was at one time Minister for nearly everything. Some of his Ministries he has relinquished, but he intends to keep the armed forces and the police under his control, and he therefore retains the three Defence Ministries and the Ministry of the Interior. In addition, he may be described as the Cabinet No important decision is taken and no important appointment is made without his sanction. This does not mean, as the reader ot the Italian Press is left to infer, that policy is formulated bv the Duce Most questions of government in all countries come up from below. The permanent officials of the departments and of autonomous public authorities make suggestions for extending their sphere of action or modifying their system of administration. As far as can be judged, these come up to Mussolini in much the same way as they come up to the British Cabinet. The Cabinet has precise rules for securing that all proposals shall be submitted in memoranda, that they shall ; be precisely formulated, and that as far | as possible they shall be agreed by all | departments concerned before they are J submitted. Whether such rules ex- j ist in Italy, I do not know. It seems however, that questions are normally j brought up in this way. If a depart- j ment oi an autonomous authority, such ; as the Central Statistical Institution, j desires to extend its authority it will | set out numerically in a memorandum j the exact powers that it desires. Mus- i snlini can write over each proposal “Si ' , or “ No.” as he thinks fit. _ , This does not tell us how he decides ; “Si” or “No.” Here wo go further 1 into the realm of conjecture. For the official version is. more or less, that the Dace is divinely inspired. As in all governmental systems, there are certain general principles, often not expressed. by which any proposal can bo judged In Italy the most important of these is that Mussolini and all the Fascist hierarchy shall remain predominant and their authority he un-

challenged. This is, indeed, the only permanent principle.

NO DEEP PRINCIPLES. ] Fascist propagandists, and even many others, assert that totalitarian States can formulate general policies, and, unlike democratic governments, see that they are carried out. There are no such deep principles in Italy; policies are determined from time to time according to the needs of the moment. Usually, like the principles of autarchy formulated at the last meeting of the Fascist Grand Council, they are fairly obvious, and the formality of a meeting of the Council is required only for propaganda purposes. Within the framework of these temporary principles the departments submit proposals much as the British departments submit proposals to the Cabinet. The collective wisdom of the official hierarchy, such as it is, is available. The problems which Mussolini has to consider are fewer and less various than those submitted to the British Cabinet. Italy is, after all, a poor agricultural country with a small patcli of Africa to manage. Moreover, whatever Mussolini does is, by reason of liis control of propaganda, always ■right. In these respects lie lias an advantage over the British Prime Minister. The essential difference between the two is that, whereas Mussolini takes a decision after consulting his experts, bis Ministers, and if necessary. bis Council of Ministers, the British Prime Minister has to make up his mind in order to guide the Cabinet. The Duce may overrule his advisers, as he did in respect of Abyssinia. The British Cabinet may overrule the Prime Minister. In fact, however, both events are rare. Decisions in Italy, as in Great Britain, are the product of collective wisdom. The notion that Mussolini is a superman is thus quite false. His task is onerous enough, hut it is_ no more onerous than that of a British Prime Minister.